Black Hebrew Israelites: New York's Most Obnoxious Prophets

[Blue_Tires]

(not my headline)
Friday, February 11, will be remembered as the historic day Hosni Mubarak's 30-year regime came to an end in Egypt.

But that same day, New Yorkers were lined up for a different reason on 34th Street: The new Jordan 6IX Rings sneakers were going on sale at midnight. By 7 p.m., hundreds of black people were lined up outside a Midtown store despite the temperature hovering around 11 degrees. Corralled behind rope lines and shivering on folding chairs, they waited patiently for the chance to plop down $160 and be among the first to own the newest Air Jordans.

From across the street, another black man, swathed in bright colors and not wearing Air Jordans, watched the scene.

"Look at those slaves to the white man!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. When a charter bus deposited dozens more shoppers directly at the entrance of the store, he laughed, yelling, "They're even bringing Negroes in by the busload!"

A bushy-bearded man who goes by the name "Zodach," with a small frame and a big voice, he is one of the few members of the ragtag House of Israel, a Black Hebrew Israelite group that is a final holdout of a dying breed: the New York City street-corner prophet. Zodach's colors were so bright and cartoonish that there was something almost charming about him—if you could ignore the insults he was spewing at everyone passing by.

"Look at those crazy Negroids! They should be over here with us, getting ready for the end-times!" Zodach yelled. "They're even sitting out in chairs, and it's cold out here tonight!"

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-03-30/news/black-hebrew-israelites-new-york-s-most-obnoxious-prophets/

[Fire1]

1. He's got a point to some extent. n/t